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Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings was fought between Harold, King of England, and William, Duke of Normandy. This battle would decide who would be king. It was fought in 1066 and would change today's modern society. Contrary to many beliefs, the battle was fought at Battle, not Hastings. It was the last time England would be successfully invaded. The Roots of the Battle Edward the Confessor died, leaving no heirs to the throne. Two people had a claim to the throne and that was Harold Godwinsson and William, Duke of Normandy. Harold said that Edward promised him the crown on his deathbed whereas William was a blood relation of Edward's mother and also said that Harold promised him the crown when he saved Harold from a shipwreck. Edward also supposedly promised William the crown when he visited England in 1052 . A council of ministers had a meeting and decided that Harold should be king. Harold crowned himself and news of that reached William. William was outraged and decided to invade England, saying it was an act of war. Build Up Harold, fearing attack, camped at the Isle of Wright for seven to eight months. When the invasion he was expecting never came, his men were tired and demorolised. Their crops withered which meant supplies would soon be scarce. They left the Isle of Wright and went back to where they came from. When the army left, Harold received news that an army of vikings had invaded up north. Harold was forced to move back north. He and his army marched fiercly. If they were fast enough, they could catch the vikings on the back foot. They were fast enough and the vikings did not even have armour donned. The vikings were slaughtered. The Saxons were celebrating when a chilling message brought Harold down to earth. William's big army had finally arrived and had landed south in Pevensey. The Saxons had no choice but to march the long distance south. Five days later, they were marching again. Saxon Army The Saxons were all on foot. Harold had some well-trained and disciplined soldiers called Huscarles. The Huscarles would obey all orders from Harold and would defend him with their lives. The rest of the army were Fyrd, conscripts from nearby towns and along the way to a battlefield. They were undisciplined and inexperienced with their weapons. Norman Army The Norman army was made of nobles and mercenaries. There were about 7000 men in the army. Unlike the Saxons, the Norman army was made up of infantry, cavalry and archers, opening up more tactics. The army was made up of soldiers from different regions around France: Normandy, Flanders, Brittany and France( today Paris and Ile de France. The Battle Part 1 Harold assembled his army on the top of Senlac Hill. This gave him the advantage of height. William assembled his army at Hastings and met Harold at Senlac Hill. Harold was fighting with his soldiers in the front line while William was giving orders to his army from the back. The Saxons created their shield wall by locking their shields together. William ordered his archers forward and they opened fire. The arrows either dug into the ground or bounced harmlessly off the shield wall. This happened because of the Saxons' elavated height. The Norman infantry started up the hill to meet the wall when the Saxons were hurling missiles to slow them down. The infantry had little effect on the wall so the cavalry came in to help. Some of the horses shied away when they saw the shield wall. Soon, the left side of the army retreated. Some of the less disciplined in the Saxon army broke ranks and followed. They soon found themselves trapped in a marshy area behind enemy lines. Those men put up a good fight but were still slaughtered. Part 2 At midday, the light was out for an hour. This was an opportunity to remove the dead and wounded from the battlefield. William used this break to make a change in tactics. He noticed the way the Saxons pursued his army when they retreated so he staged fake retreats. The Saxons that followed put up a furious fight but still got slaughtered. The day was nearing an end. If Harold could hold out until nightfall, reinforcements would arrive in time for the next day. All that each leader needed was a decisive moment to win. Part 3 William was determined to seize victory by nightfall so he changed his tactics again. He ordered his archers forward again. This time, they aimed higher, not to hit the men in front, but to hit men in the ranks behind. This resulted in heavy casualties for the Saxons because the men behind were not well protected, Harold also getting wounded in the eye. The Normans hurled themselves against the wall. This time, the Saxons were not holding their shield wall very well. Soon, chinks appeared in the shield wall. An opening was made and the Normans ran through it going straight for the king. The Huscarls stayed true to their word and defended their king with their lives. Harold's wound kills him and soon a message swept through the Saxon ranks that Harold was dead. The Saxons retreated into the darkening hills because of the death of their king and William emerged from the battle victorious. Aftermath After the Battle of Hastings, William pushed on to England to claim the throne. William had himself crowned on Christmas day, 1066. This was the beginning of a new age, the Middle Age. It would carry on until 1485 and would be the foundation of today's modern society. Remembering the Battle of Hastings Battle Abbey was built at the site of the battle and a plaque was laid to commemorate the battle. The Bayeux Tapestry was also woven and depicts the events before, during and after the Battle of Hastings. William Poitiers wrote ''The Deeds of William, Duke of the Normans ''which thumb|right|500px|An animated version of the Bayeux Tapestry mentions the Battle of Has tings. Much later, the C''hronicles of Battle Abbey ''was written. William's victory had a big influence over the English language, introducing French words into the English language.